The federal government has unveiled plans to digitize 80% of its operations by next year, aligning with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to modernizing Nigeria’s public sector.
This initiative aims to boost efficiency, curb corruption, enhance transparency, and align Nigeria with global e-governance standards.
During the inauguration of a digitalization training program for the staff of the Office of the Vice President at the State House Conference Hall on Monday, Senator Hassan Ibrahim Hadejia, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Nigerian President (Office of the Vice President), emphasized the urgent need to transform government operations through digital technologies.
He said “If you don’t go digital, you get to a point where you will even fail to integrate with the rest of the world. Everybody is moving ahead, and you have to get to that level where you can at least get that connectivity.” The Deputy Chief of Staff noted the necessity of leading by example, saying, “If you have a State House that is digitized or has gone paperless, every agency and everybody would be forced to comply.”
He stressed that compliance must be enforced across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to ensure the initiative’s success. “Compliance has to be enforced because if you wait for everybody to be ready you will not achieve the goal. If you have a situation where you are forced to present your requests or responses in a digital format, everybody will be forced to comply,” he said.
Drawing inspiration from the judiciary’s successful adoption of digital processes, Senator Hadejia said, “Surprisingly, the judiciary is almost at the forefront of digitization now. It simply happened because several years ago the Supreme Court said it will not tolerate paper processes from lawyers anymore”.
Earlier, State House Permanent Secretary, Engr. Olusesan Olufunso Adebiyi, announced the establishment of a training center to improve efficiency among State House employees. He also mentioned that additional training sessions would be periodically organized for staff.
He also announced the procurement of 500 desktop computers and the establishment of a training centre within the State House to enhance staff members’ productivity. “We already have 500 newly acquired desktop computers manufactured and configured for use in the State House,” Adebiyi said. He appealed to staff members to embrace the new process while charging them not to be left behind.
